Electrolytic apparatus.



No. 759,798. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.

H. s. BLAGKMORE.

ELECTROLYTIC APPARATUS. APPLIUATION FILED JULY 22, 1903.

K0 MODEL.

1% humans Patented May 10, 1904:.

HENRY SPENCER BLAUKMORE, OE MOUNT VERNON, NE YORK.

ELECTROLYTIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,798, dated May 10,1904. Application filed July 22, 1903. Serial No. 166,567. (No11101101,)

To cal], whom it may concern,

Be it known that I, H ENRY SPENCER BLACK- MORE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing atMount Vernon, in the county of l/Vestchester andState of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inElectrolytic Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This apparatus is especially intended for the electrolysis of an aqueoussolution of sodium chlorid upon a mercury cathode and the removal of thesodium from the resulting amalgam as sodium hydrate, being fullydescribed. in pending United States application, Serial No. 85,099,filed December 7, 1901.

Referring to the acompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinalvertical section of the apparatus, taken on lineI Iot' Fig. 2. Fig.

2 is a plan View, partly in horizontal section;-

and Fig. 3 illustrates a modification using a siphon 25 to draw off thealloy from the electrolytic cell, a body of liquid other than theelectrolyte being used in the intermediate vessel 28-for example, carbonbisulfid, carbon tetrachlorid, &c.

The apparatus consists of the following parts:

A vessel 1 communicates by bottom outlet 2 with a chamber 3. Withinchamber 3 is a ball-float 4, communicating by rod 5, lever 6, and link 7with a valve 8 in outlet 2. This float feed mechanism serves to maintaina column of mercury at uniform level in chamber 3. An outlet-pipe 9,leading from the bottom of chamber 3, opens into a manifold 10, which inturn has several lateral outlet-pipes 11, opening into the bottom ofelectrolytic cell 12. The layer of mercury 13 thus introduced upon thebottom of electrolytic cell is connected to act as cathode. Supportedupon cathode 13 is a body of an aqueous solution of sodium chlorid. orother electrolyte 14. The cover 15 of the electrolytic cell has a numberof openings 16, arranged in parallel rows. Above each row of openings isa strip 17 of insulating material, which serves to support the stems 18of anodes 19. The cover 15 has also a number of vertical outlet-pipes 20for chlorin leading into a manifold. Upon each end of the electrolyticcell is arranged a receptacle 22 for solid sodium chlorid or other pipe-32.

electrolyte. These receptacles are in open communication with theelectrolyte in cell 13 by openings 23 and serve to maintain it in asaturated condition. From the side of cell 13 one or more sets of pipes24 25 lead into one or more vessels 26, from the bottom of which in turna valve-pipe 27 leads into the oxidizing vessel 28. Pipe 2 1 serves toput the elec trolyte into open communication with a similar body ofliquid 29 in vessel 26, while pipe 25 is arranged to draw oil' theliquid amalgam produced by electrolysis as soon as the pipe rises abovethe normal level of the cathode.

The oxidizing vessel 28 is divided into a number of parallelcompartments alternately communicating at opposite ends by verticalbathe-plates 35. The liquid amalgam is introduced by pipe 27 into one ofthe end compartments and flows back and forth through the succeedingcompartments to an outlet- Adjacent to but above outlet 32 is aninlet-pipe 33 for water or other oxidizing agents. The introduced waterltlows over the surface of the amalgam and serves to remove therefromthe sodium or other easilyoxidizablc metals, the resulting sodiumhydrate escaping through the valved outlet-pipe 34. The rate ofoxidation of the sodium may be increased by placing electrodes 35, ofcarbon or other relatively electronegative material, in the water andputting them in electrical communication with the amalgam below, eitherdirectly or by connecting the amalgam with the positive lead of theelectrolizing-current and the carbon electrodes with the negative lead,thereby utilizing the electrical energy generated in the oxidizing-cellto furnish current to the clectrolizing-ccll. Pipe 32 serves to carrythe depleted alloy metal from the oxidizing-cell into an ad joiningvertical cylinder 36, in the bottom of which is a valve-outlet 37,controlled by a float 38. A pipe 39 leads from outlet 37 into areceiving vessel 10. The mercury collected in vessel 10 is returned bypipes 11, including pump 42 or otherwise, to the reservoir 1. Themovement of mercury and amalgam through the various vessels is effectedsolely by the differences of level of the various bodies of mercury andamalgam, and these differences are maintained by suit- 8 andfloat-controlled outlet 37 and of the height of the connecting-pipes.The connecting-pipes between the various vessels are preferably of hardrubber or vitrified earthenware to insulate the vessels from each other.The pipe 21 for removing chlorin is preferably connected with an exhaustdevice to maintain a slight vacuum over the electrolyte and facilitatethe escape of chlorin. The maintenance of the electrolyte in a saturatedcondition tends to prevent the absorption of chlorin by it and preventsthe charges of level which would otherwise occur. The outletpipe 34 forsodium hydrate should be somewhat larger than the water-inlet pipe 33and serves to maintain a constant level of the water in theoxidizing-chambers.

By the use of vessels which are provided with heating means theapparatus may be adapted for the electrolysis of molten sodium chloridupon a cathode of molten metal, such as lead, any suitable means beingemployed for oxidizing and removing the sodium, such as a stream ofmolten sodium hydrate flowing in contact with the lead-sodium alloy orinjected into the body of the alloy, the resulting sodium oxidbeing-regenerated, if desired, by the action of steam.

The term alloy as used in the claims is intended to cover a solution ofan oxidizable metal in any alloying metal, whether mercury or lead.

As is Well known, the addition of a comparatively small amount of analkali or an alkaline-earth metal to mercury converts the latter into apasty condition in which it does not readily flow. This diificulty maybe avoided when mercury is employed as a cathode by applying heat to it,thereby maintaining the amalgam produced by electrolysis in fluentcondition and enabling larger percentages of sodium to be absorbedwithout interfering with the continuous overflow of amalgam into theoxidizing vessel. Such heat may be supplied by a gas-burner 44 beneaththe electrolytic cell, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

1. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having ananode,a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of thecathode and a body of electrolyte supported by the cathode, and a feeddevice for supplying additional liquid metal to the oathode as the alloyproduced by electrolysis flows ofl through said outlet, means wherebythe feed device controlled by variations in the density of the cathode,as set forth.

2. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having ananode, a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of thecathode, a body of electrolyte supported by the cathode, a saturator formaintaining the body of the electrolyte at uniform density, and a feeddevice for supplying additional liquid metal to the cathode as the alloyproduced by electrolysis flows off through said outlet, means wherebythe feed device controlled by variations in the density of the cathodeas set forth.

3. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having ananode,a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of thecathode, and a body of electrolyte supported by said cathode, anadjoining chamber containing a column of the liquid metal, said columnin communication with the cathode and balanced by the weight of thecathode and superposed electrolyte, and meansforsupplying additionalliquid metal to said column controlled by the variations in density ofthe cathode and maintaining its level substantially uniform, as portionsflow into the electrolytic cell, as set forth.

4. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having ananode, a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of thecathode, and a body of electrolyte supported by said cathode, anadjoining chamber containing a column of the liquid metal, said columnin communication with the cathode and balanced by the weight of thecathode and superposed electrolyte, a reservoir of the liquid metal andan inlet from said reservoir to said chamber, having a float-feedcontrolled by the height ofthe column in said chamber, as set forth.

5. An apparatus for oxidizing and removing metals from their liquidalloys comprising an oxidizing vessel containing a layer of the alloy,an oxidizing agent supported by said layer, an outlet device for thealloying metal controlled by the height of said layer, and a reservoirof the alloy communicating with the oxidizing vessel and arranged toautomatically supply a fresh alloy as the depleted alloying metal flowsfrom the oxidizing vessel, as set forth.

6. Anapparatus for oxidizing and removing metals from their liquidalloy, comprising an oxidizing vessel containing a layer of the alloy,an oxidizing agent supported by said layer, an outlet for the alloyingmetal having a float-valve controlled by theheight of said layer, and areservoir of the alloy communicating with the oxidizing vessel andarranged to supply fresh alloy as the depleted alloying metal flows fromthe oxidizing vessel, as set' forth.

7. An apparatus for oxidizing and removing metals from their liquidalloys, comprising a vessel having tortuous passage, an inlet for thealloy at one end of the passage, an outlet for the alloying metal at theother end of the passage, an inlet for a liquid oxidizing agent adjacentto but above the said outlet, and an outlet for the product of oxidationadjacent to the said inlet for alloy and arranged to maintain a uniformlayer of the oxidizing agent above the alloy, as set forth.

8. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell havingliquid-metal cathode, an oxidizing vessel, an independent body ofelectrolyte between said cell and vessel, and

, passages arranged to carry the alloy produced by electrolysis throughsaidindependent body of electrolyte and into the oxidizing vessel,thereby preventing short-circuit between the cathode and the alloy inthe oxidizing vessel, as set forth.

9. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having ananode, a liquidmetal cathode, and a body of electrolyte supported by thecathode, an oxidizing vessel containing a layer of liquid alloy producedby electrolysis, and an intermediate chamber having separate passagescommunicating with said electrolyte, cathode, and layer of alloy, as setforth.

10. An electrolytic apparatus comprising a reservoir of liquid metal, anelectrolytic cell communicating with said reservoir and having a layerof said liquid metal as cathode and a body of electrolyte supported bysaid cathode, an outlet near the surface of said cathode leading to anoxidizing vessel, a layer of the liquid alloy produced by electrolysisin said oxidizing vessel and supporting an oxidizing agent, an outletarranged to lead the depleted alloying metal into an adjoining chamber,said chamber and an outletfrom the bottom of said chamber controlled bythe height of the alloying metal in said chamber, the bodies of metal,electrolyte, alloy, and oxidizing agent in the reservoir, electrolyticcell, oxidizing vessel and said chamber, being normally balanced,whereby electrodeposition of a light metal upon the cathode causes theresulting alloy to overflow into the oxidizing vessel, the depletedalloying metal to flow from the oxidizing vessel into said chamber and afurther quantity of the alloying metal to flow from the reservoir intothe electrolytic cell, as set forth.

11. An electrolyticapparatus,comprising an electrolytic cell having ananode, a liquidmetal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of thecathode, and a chamber containing a body of liquid which is inert towardthe alloy produced in the electrolytic cell, said chamber communicatingwith the outlet of said cell, whereby said inert liquid serves tocountel-balance the weight of the electrolyte while permitting freeoutflow of the alloy produced by electrolysis, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

IIENRY SPENCER Bl'iACKlllORll.

Witnesses:

O. C. WRIGHT, H. N. JENKINS.

